Friday, November 13, 2015

"High and rising real house prices in Canada since the late 1990s can be mostly explained by long-run movements in incomes, housing supply, mortgage interest rates and credit conditions. This implies that the outlook for house prices depends largely on the future paths of these variables. For example, mortgage rates will at some point rise from historically low levels. All else being equal, and under certain assumptions, our model suggests that a 100 basis point rise in mortgage rates from, say, 2.5 to 3.5 per cent would decrease real house prices by about 12 per cent over the subsequent 5 years. It is difficult to be overly precise about these estimates and, in practice, higher mortgage rates could be correlated with stronger incomes that could provide some partially offsetting support for house prices. These aspects would need to be taken into account in a more refined projection."

Monday, June 22, 2015

Affordability measures for Alberta improved the most among Canada’s provinces

Affordability conditions continued to deteriorate in Toronto and segments of the Vancouver market

TORONTO, June 22, 2015 - Housing trends across provinces largely counteracted one another in the first quarter of 2015, leaving affordability relatively unchanged at the national level compared to late-2014, according to the latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report issued today by RBC Economics Research.

RBC says that mortgage rate declines that took place earlier this year contributed to improved levels of affordability in many markets and housing categories where home price increases were subdued, but that deterioration was noted in markets with stronger price gains.

“Canadian markets heavily associated with the oil and gas industry – Calgary and Edmonton in particular – were impacted earlier this year by the plunge in oil prices which tipped the market in favour of buyers due to softening home prices and ownership costs,” said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist, RBC. “At the other end of the spectrum, solid price increases continued to erode housing affordability in Toronto and Vancouver which remain Canada’s hottest markets.”

Following a temporary slowdown over the harsh winter, home resales picked up smartly in the spring with resales rising 11.2 per cent between February and May to 521,400 units nationally – 11.1 per cent above the 10-year average. RBC says that demand continues to be strongest in Vancouver and Toronto, though there were signs that demand in some previously soft markets, including Montreal and Ottawa, began to pick up.

RBC anticipates Canada’s home resales will rise modestly by 1.5 per cent to 488,500 units in 2015, up from 481,200 units in 2014. The increase mainly reflects strength in British Columbia and Ontario, with mild gains in other oil-consuming provinces also making a contribution. The forecast expects partial offsets from declines in Alberta (down nearly 21 per cent) and Saskatchewan (down close to 13 per cent).

Contrasting regional affordability pictures across Canada are likely to continue in the near term, RBC says, with balanced demand-supply conditions in the majority of local markets supporting modest price increases and somewhat stable levels of affordability overall.

“It’s likely that we’ll see small price declines in the markets dependent on oil, which suggests that home ownership costs may fall further in Alberta, Saskatchewan and possibly markets in Atlantic Canada as well,” said Wright. “We also anticipate strong price momentum to further erode affordability in Toronto and Vancouver, particularly in the single-detached home segments.”

RBC points out that the eventual normalization of monetary policy, which is expected to begin in Q2 2016, could adversely impact affordability levels across Canada. Wright comments: “Exceptionally low interest rates have been a key factor keeping housing affordability levels in a largely manageable state in recent years. The knock-on effect of the anticipated rise in rates would be most visible in high-priced markets.”

The report indicates that affordability generally remains neutral in Canada, with limited signs of stress being exerted on home buyers outside Vancouver and Toronto. RBC’s measures are still quite close to their long-term averages, suggesting that current conditions are within historical norms.

The RBC Housing Affordability measure captures the proportion of pre-tax household income that would be needed to service the costs of owning a specified category of home at current market values (a decrease in the measure represents an improvement in affordability). During Q1 2015, affordability measures at the national level edged lower by 0.3 percentage points to 27.1 per cent for condominiums and 0.2 percentage points to 47.9 per cent for two-storey homes. The measure for detached bungalows was unchanged at 42.7 per cent.

The RBC Housing Affordability measure, which has been compiled since 1985, is based on the calculated costs of owning a detached bungalow (a reasonable property benchmark for the housing market in Canada) at market value. Alternative housing types are also presented, including a standard two-storey home and a standard condominium apartment. The higher the reading, the more difficult it is to afford a home at market values. For example, an affordability reading of 50 per cent means that home ownership costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes, would take up 50 per cent of a typical household’s monthly pre-tax income.

It is important to note that RBC’s measure is designed to gauge ownership costs associated with buying a home at present market values. It is not a representation of the actual costs incurred by current owners, the vast majority of whom have bought in the past at significantly different values than those prevailing in the latest period.

Home resales plummeted more than 16 per cent in the province during Q1, contributing to price declines across housing segments. The impact on affordability was partly muted by a moderation in household income. RBC’s measures fell 0.1 percentage points for condos, rose 0.3 percentage points for bungalows and remained unchanged for two-storey homes.

Affordability of single-detached homes and condos evolved in opposite directions in Q1. RBC’s measures rose by 0.3 percentage points for both bungalows and two-storey homes, while the measure for condos fell noticeably by 1.1 percentage points.

For the past four years, owning a single-detached home at market prices in the province has become less and less affordable, whereas the weight of owning a condo has remained fairly constant. RBC’s measures for bungalows and two-storey homes rose by 0.3 percentage points, while the measure for condos edged lower by 0.2 percentage points.

After remaining steady for years, housing affordability improved in the province over the course of 2014 and the trend continued in Q1 2015. RBC’s measures fell across all three categories tracked (between 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points).

The lingering effect of earlier softness in home resale markets led to further improvement in housing affordability in the Atlantic region in Q1. RBC’s affordability measures fell 0.7 percentage points for bungalows and 0.5 percentage points for two-storey homes. The measure for condos was unchanged.

The full RBC Housing Trends and Affordability report is available online as of 8:00 a.m. ET today.

Friday, June 12, 2015

JUNE 12, 2015HOME PRICES UP 0.9% IN MAYIn May the
Teranet–National Bank National Composite House Price Index™ was up 0.9% from
the previous month, a fifth consecutive monthly increase. The 0.9% rise was
slightly below the May average of 1.1% over the last 14 years. This was
because Calgary prices fell 3.3% from April, the largest monthly drop
recorded for that region, subtracting 0.3 percentage points from the gain of
the composite index. The monthly slide left Calgary prices the lowest since
April of last year. By contrast, all 10 of the other metropolitan markets
entering into the composite index were up on the month, a breadth last seen
in August 2014. Prices were up 2.3% in Halifax, 1.6% in Toronto and Montreal,
1.5% in Ottawa-Gatineau, 1.3% in Vancouver, 0.9% in Quebec City, 0.6% in
Hamilton and Edmonton, 0.5% in Victoria and 0.2% in Winnipeg. The Ottawa-Gatineau
gain came after a run of eight declines in nine months. In the other markets
east of Toronto, namely Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax, prices have
risen rather sharply over the past three months after downward corrections
that lasted from four to seven months depending on the case. This suggests
that these markets are stimulated by historically low mortgage rates. The
composite index was at an all-time high in May, as were the indexes of four
of the 11 markets surveyed – Toronto, Vancouver, Hamilton and Quebec
City. Read
More

In May the composite
index was up 4.6% from a year earlier, an acceleration from April. The
12-month gain was well above the countrywide average in Toronto (7.6%) and in
Hamilton and Vancouver (6.2%). In Victoria and Edmonton (4.8%) it was close
to th average. In Quebec City (2.9%), Montreal (1.5%), Winnipeg (1.0%) and
Halifax (0.4%) it was well below the average. Prices were down from a year
earlier in Ottawa-Gatineau (−0.9%) and, for the first time since July 2011,
in Calgary (−1.4%).

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"About the time everybody's walking around complacently, congratulating each other—"We've sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!"—suddenly everything will fall apart. It's going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman."